HR departments have to become profit centres or lose out, HR Forum warned

David Woods
, 01 Jun 2012

HR directors have to redefine HR to become a profit centre rather than a cost centre in business. Otherwise, the future of HR could lie outside HR departments or even outside business, said Matthew Jeffery, head of EMEA talent acquisition and global talent brand at IT software developer, Autodesk.

Addressing delegates earlier this month at the HR Forum aboard the cruise ship Aurora (pictured), Jeffery said: "There are negative perceptions of HR – and mud sticks, especially in the view of old-school managers. Does HR even have a future, if we are thought of as process-driven, transactional, the hiring-and-firing squad, reactive and insular?"

He said HR would become "remote, social, automated, specialised and smaller", focusing increasingly on projects within businesses, as administration would be outsourced, potentially to other parts of the business.

Jeffery added: "HR needs to celebrate what it does and make sure the business knows. Attracting and retaining talent is key for a company and critical for business as we move forward."

1 comment on this article

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HR departments have always been profit centers

Peter Lanc
03 Jun 2012

Totally agreed. It was not until I brought in over 5 millions pounds that some of the more cynical stakeholders came around to the fact that HR adds value in all ways. Lets face it we have always been a profits centre. All we do affects the bottom line.